A Picture-Perfect Lift-off!

A picture-perfect launch never gets old, even if Intelsat has done this many times over the years.

When you have over 2.5 millions of pounds of thrust at lift-off, the sight and sound is an awesome experience.

We were especially happy that Convergence Partners and Nedbank - the South African consortium that owns Intelsat New Dawn in a joint venture with Intelsat - got the opportunity to experience the launch live.

Contributor: Brian Sing, Satellite Mission Director, Intelsat New Dawn

Ignition Timeline Leading up to Launch of Intelsat New Dawn

For tonight's launch, the main engines start at T-0. This is the Vulcain 2 engine located in the center core. If this engine starts up correctly, at T+7 seconds, the two solid rockets, which are on either side of the main core, ignite.

Total thrust at liftoff is approximately 2.6 million lbs at liftoff. At 140 seconds, the two solids will have exhausted their fuel and are jettisoned. The fairing is jettisoned as soon as possible, at 191 seconds, to reduce the mass the rocket has to carry and to maximize performance.

At 533 seconds, the Vulcain 2 engine will be shut off and ten seconds later, at 543 seconds, the second stage will ignite. The second stage engine will take the satellites to the transfer orbit. At 1,519 seconds, the second stage engine will complete its burn and be in a geostationary transfer orbit with the two satellites.

At 2,103 seconds (35 minutes), the New Dawn satellite will be separated from the Ariane 5 rocket.

Contributor: Brian Sing, Satellite Mission Director, Intelsat New Dawn

Intelsat New Dawn Rolled Out to Launch Zone

Today, on Launch-1 day, the Ariane 5 rocket with the Intelsat New Dawn and Yahsat 1A satellites left the confines of the Final Assembly Building to travel to the Launch Zone. Once there, the technicians will finalize the launch table and configure it for tomorrow's launch.

The photo collage gives you some perspective of today's activities. The French Military was there to protect the rocket, Jean-Luc Froeliger observed the roll-out from a distance, while others celebrated with champagne to mark this special day.

It is truly peaceful and calming to view the rocket as it quietly moves about 2 to 3 kilometers per hour knowing that tomorrow's event will be a fiery lift-off, culminating with the satellites traveling over 32,000 miles per hour.

The Launch Readiness Review was successfully held yesterday and Arianespace authorized the launch vehicle for roll-out to the launch pad. The Ariane 5 launch vehicle, along with the Intelsat New Dawn and Yahsat satellite, have been sitting safely in the Final Assembly Building for the last three weeks as Arianespace and their subcontractors completed the investigation into the cause of the terminated countdown three weeks ago.

On Monday, engineers from Orbital Sciences Corporation powered up the satellite and configured it for pre-launch. The satellite batteries are now fully charged and all sub-systems have been fully checked out. Everything is looking great for the launch. The window opens tomorrow at 5:37 pm EDT, Washington DC time.

Contributor: Brian Sing, Satellite Mission Director, Intelsat New Dawn